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Polish court rejects appeal against acquittal of women over anti-religious law

Charges brought after Virgin Mary adorned with rainbow halo

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(Screenshot courtesy of Amnesty International)

A Polish court on Wednesday threw out the appeal by Polish prosecutors over the acquittal of three women who were charged in 2020 for violation of under article 196 of the Polish Criminal Code colloquially referred to as “offending religious beliefs.”

Article 196 of Poland’s penal code states that offending people’s religious feelings by publicly outraging an object or place of religious worship is a criminal offense.

The three woman, Elżbieta, Anna and Joanna — whose last names have not been released — were arrested in 2019 and charged the next year after they stuck up posters of the Virgin Mary adorned with a rainbow halo, symbolic of the popular flag used to represent the LGBTQ community. Had they been convicted they face up to two years in prison each.

“This case is emblematic of a number of disturbing anti-human rights trends in Poland. Not only is space for free expression, activism and peaceful protest shrinking, but the climate of homophobia in the country is worsening amid an increase in hate crimes, the introduction of LGBTI free zones by local councils and attempts to ban Pride marches,” Amnesty International’s Senior Campaigner for Europe Catrinel Motoc said.

“Today’s decision comes as a huge relief but cannot disguise the fact that these three women should never have been put on trial in the first place. Distributing posters of the Virgin Mary wearing a rainbow halo should never be criminalised, so it is right that the appeal against their acquittal was rejected,” Motoc added.

LGBTQ rights have become a deeply divisive issue in predominantly Roman Catholic Poland. Religious conservatives condemn what they say is an “ideology” bent on destroying the traditional family while more liberal Poles demand tolerance and equal treatment of what they regard as an oppressed minority, Euronews noted.

In March 2021, Elżbieta, Anna and Joanna were acquitted of “offending religious beliefs” under article 196 of the Criminal Code in relation to the use of posters depicting the Virgin Mary with a rainbow halo symbolic of the LGBTQ flag around her head and shoulders.

They were acquitted by the first instance court, but the prosecutor’s appeal brought them to court again, with the hearing scheduled on Dec. 8, 2021.

“Article 196 provides overly broad scope for the authorities to prosecute and criminalize individuals, in violation of their right to freedom of expression. As such, it is incompatible with Poland’s international and regional human rights obligations,” Amnesty International said in a statement.

The authorities arrested Elżbieta in 2019 after she took a trip abroad with Amnesty International campaigners. The authorities opened an initial investigation against her in May 2019. In July 2020, the authorities officially charged the three activists, alleging that the posters “publicly insulted an object of religious worship in the form of this image which offended the religious feelings of others”.

In November 2020, Amnesty International, Campaign Against Homophobia, Freemuse, Front Line Defenders, Human Rights Watch and ILGA-Europe sent a joint public statement urging the Polish prosecutor general to drop the charges and ensure that the three women are allowed to carry out their human rights work without harassment and reprisals.

More than 275,000 people had joined Amnesty International’s campaign urging the Polish prosecutor general to drop the unfounded charges against the three women human rights activists.

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France

Prominent French activist attacked outside Paris bar

Pierre Picavet hospitalized with internal bleeding, head injury

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The Marais, the center of Paris's LGBTQ community, in 2018. A prominent activist was attacked on Aug. 29, 2026, as he was leaving a bar in the neighborhood. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

French prosecutors say a man shouted anti-gay slurs at a prominent activist before he attacked him in Paris on Saturday.

Media reports indicate Pierre Picavet, a police officer who is the president of FLAG!, a group within the French Justice and Interior Ministries that defends LGBTQ rights, was attacked as he left a bar in Paris’s Marais neighborhood.

The Marais since the 1980s has been center of the French capital’s LGBTQ community.

France 24 reported Picavet’s assailant struck him with a bottle. The attack left Picavet hospitalized with internal bleeding, a head wound, and other injuries.

“When I get better, when my wounds have healed, I will continue the fight,” Picavet told Radio France on Monday. “I am particularly shocked, but it tells me that there is still work to do.”

Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire is among those who condemned the attack.

STOP Homophobia (STOP homophobie), a French group that fights against anti-LGBTQ violence, on its social media pages published a picture of Picavet in the hospital.

“As a long-standing partner of FLAG!, STOP Homophobia wishes to express its solidarity with Pierre Picavet, his loved ones, and the entire association,” said the group. “STOP Homophobia condemns this assault in the strongest possible terms and reiterates that anti-LGBT violence remains a reality — even in spaces where everyone should be able to move freely and live out their sexual orientation or gender identity without fear of attack.”

STOP Homophobia also praised a bystander who came to Picavet’s aid after the attack, and the first responders and law enforcement personnel who responded.

“STOP Homophobia extends its full support to Pierre, his family, his loved ones, and the entire FLAG! team, and wishes him a full recovery,” said the group.

Reports indicate the assailant, who was born in 2006, was scheduled to appear in a Paris court on Monday at 1:30 p.m. local time.

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Poland

Poland begins to legally recognize same-sex marriages from other countries

‘This is an important milestone, but it should not be the final destination’

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The Polish Sejm in Warsaw in 2024. The country has begun to recognize same-sex marriages legally performed elsewhere. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Poland has begun to recognize same-sex marriages legally performed outside the country.

TVP World, the country’s public broadcaster, reported civil registry offices began to “transcribe same-sex marriages legally” conducted outside of Poland on Aug. 22.

The EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg last November ruled in favor of a same-sex couple who challenged Poland’s refusal to recognize their German marriage. Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court in March reaffirmed the decision.

The couple, who lives in Poland, brought their case to Polish courts in 2019. The Supreme Administrative Court referred it to the EU Court of Justice.

The Polish government in May announced it will recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other EU countries. Polish President Karol Nawrocki on July 17 vetoed bills that would have extended rights to same-sex couples.

Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal a few days later rejected the recognition of same-sex marriages legally performed in other EU countries. The Love Does Not Exclude Association, a Polish marriage equality advocacy group, in an Aug. 26 press release notes the ruling “does not prevent implementation of these new regulations” because the Constitutional Tribunal is “largely discredited” and the government considers it “to be improperly constituted.”

“This is an important milestone, but it should not be the final destination,” said Maja Heban of the Love Does Not Exclude Association. “No couple should have to cross a border to marry. Our goal is allowing loving, committed couples to marry in Poland in the first place. The law now increasingly recognizes these marriages once couples return to Poland in areas such as healthcare and social security, but significant gaps remain, mainly lack of recognition of same-sex parents which directly impacts security of their children.”

Germany, Belgium, France, Ireland, Spain, and Portugal are among the EU countries in which same-sex couples can legally marry. Andorra, whose prime minister, Xaviet Espot Zamora, is openly gay, and Switzerland are among the other European nations that have extended marriage rights to same-sex couples.

The Andorran Counsel General in Andorra la Vella, Andorra. Andorra is among the European countries that have extended marriage rights to same-sex couples.(Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

The Netherlands in 2001 became the first country in the world to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. Activists who participated in this year’s World Pride that took place in Amsterdam earlier this summer marked this milestone.

Participants in the World Pride Human Rights March in Amsterdam on Aug. 8, 2026, commemorate the 25th anniversary of marriage equality in the Netherlands. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
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Honduras

Realidad LGBTQ en Honduras: fuga o muerte

Observatorio KAI+: 35 asesinatos anti-LGBTQ en 2026

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Tegucigalpa, Honduras, en 2022. Las cifras encienden todas las alarmas: 35 muertes violentas de personas LGBTQ, 195 casos de violencia generalizada y 11 personas asistidas para refugiarse en el extranjero. (Foto de Michael K. Lavers por el Washington Blade)

Reportar sin Miedo es el socio mediático del Washington Blade en Honduras. Esta nota salió en su sitio web el 21 de agosto.

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Las cifras encienden todas las alarmas: 35 muertes violentas de personas LGBTQ, 195 casos de violencia generalizada y 11 personas asistidas para refugiarse en el extranjero. Las mujeres trans encabezan las víctimas mortales con 11 casos, seguidas de los hombres gay con 10.

Esa es la realidad de las poblaciones sexualmente diversas que pinta el boletín número 14 del Observatorio de Violencia hacia las Personas LGBTI+ de Honduras KAI+, correspondiente al período de enero al 8 de agosto de 2026.

Según el informe, los departamentos con mayor concentración de asesinatos son Francisco Morazán (12), Cortés (5) y Comayagua (4). Sin embargo, el dato más revelador de la impunidad es que los 35 casos permanecen en etapa de investigación preliminar, con apenas dos capturas reportadas.

«No queremos vivir con miedo»: defensores

Lucía Barrientos, de la Asociación Ixchel, resume el sentimiento colectivo. «Hoy las personas LGBTI en Honduras vivimos en estado de alerta. Muertes que, al hacer un análisis, tienen una conmoción de que muchas personas de nuestra población han sido torturadas, que han sido crímenes de odio», señala. 

Barrientos subraya que en el país no hay una ley que tipifique el crimen de odio, lo que deja a la población en un limbo legal y expuesta a la violencia sin protección efectiva.

Entretanto, Jennifer Córdoba, de la Colectiva de Mujeres Trans Muñecas de Arcoíris, lamenta que las autoridades no estén haciendo nada para defender los derechos humanos. 

«Ver ese tipo de violencias en el país que se incrementan, ver que las autoridades de nuestro país no están haciendo nada para la defensa de los derechos humanos, no crear una política pública que respete los derechos humanos de la población LGTBI», afirma Córdoba.

Violencia generalizada y discriminación sistemática

Los 195 casos de violencia generalizada incluyen amenazas (19), maltrato familiar (25), abuso de autoridad (14), discriminación por orientación sexual o identidad de género (14), lesiones (10) y agresiones sexuales. Las mujeres trans son nuevamente las más afectadas, con 32 casos registrados. 

Dany Montesinos, de la Asociación LGBTI Kukulcán, advierte: «Esta es una violencia general, estructurada. No tenemos un patrón determinado. La alerta que estamos poniendo es que, en comparación con otros años, esto está siendo más creciente».

Un elemento crítico señalado por el boletín es que casi el 70 por ciento de los casos de violencia generalizada (137 de 195) carecen de categorización desagregada sobre la orientación sexual o identidad de género de la víctima, lo que evidencia la ausencia de protocolos adecuados por parte de las instituciones estatales y una invisibilización sistemática.

Migración forzada, huir para vivir

Entre los hallazgos más dolorosos está la asistencia a 11 personas LGBTQ que han buscado refugio en el extranjero. Ocho se han ido a Estados Unidos, dos a España y una al Reino Unido. Los motivos incluyen amenazas, discriminación, abuso de autoridad, agresiones sexuales y físicas. 

Como señala un testimonio: «Tuvieron que irse, se vieron obligadas a huir por amenazas, por la discriminación, por el abuso de autoridad y agresiones sexuales. Estos datos nos muestran que la migración de las personas LGBTI no responde únicamente a razones económicas, sino a la necesidad urgente de proteger su vida y sus derechos».

Recomendaciones ante un Estado ausente

El boletín concluye con un llamado urgente al Estado hondureño. Exige fortalecer las investigaciones de muertes violentas e implementar políticas públicas de protección integral. Además, capacitar a funcionarios en diversidad sexual y derechos humanos y garantizar que los casos avancen más allá de la etapa preliminar.

Barrientos lo resume con claridad. «Exigimos al Estado respuestas inmediatas, justicia y protección real para nuestra población. No queremos retroceder, no queremos volver atrás, no queremos vivir con miedo, no queremos salir a la calle y saber que no puedo expresar mi amor hacia mi pareja o hacia otra persona porque puedo amar y ser muerta».

El Observatorio KAI+ recuerda que detrás de cada cifra hay seres humanos: madres, padres, hijos, hermanos y familias que dependen de ellos. La indiferencia institucional, advierten, no puede seguir siendo una puerta abierta a la impunidad.

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